Biofouling of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membranes: Present and Future

One of the most important practical problems in applying reverse osmosis (RO) is loss of performancecaused by membrane biofouling due to formation of a biofilm layer by halophile marine organisms andtheir metabolic products. A wide variety of pretreatment systems including multimedia filters, activatedcarbon filters, automatic water softeners, chemical dosing systems, iron removal filters, pre-UVsterilizers, and ozonation systems, are using to reduce potential of fouling. Moreover, several attempts via(۱) water physical and/or chemical treatments to remove or stabilize particulates and/or ions, (۲) periodicdirect cleaning of membranes, (۳) reduced fouling potential by modification surface of membranes arecleaning treatments. Innovative RO membranes cleaning techniques such as AiRO, Novel submergedmembrane hybrid systems and direct osmosis high salinity process are new approaches that can minimizebiofilm of the RO membrane. Recently, to better understand the RO biofouling process, diversity of ROmicrobial communities are characterizing in laboratory-scale that can be lead to better management offouling.

کلیدواژه ها:

Halophiles ، Biofilm ، Reverse osmosis (RO) ، Membrane